Authors — Scott Macaulay
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Film Programmer Aaron Hillis Buys Brooklyn Video Store
While in Cannes I bumped into critic and programmer Aaron Hillis, who told me about the new Brooklyn-based endeavor he’ll be starting upon returning home — running a video store. Hillis, who already programs reRun, the independent cinema and gastropub located in Filmmaker’s building in DUMBO (and currently playing Contributing Editor Brandon Harris’s debut feature, Redlegs), recently bought the established Cobble Hill business Video Free Brooklyn. At a time when the independent film world is obsessed with VOD, downloads and streaming, Hillis is time-traveling back to the world of plastic cases, late fees, and, on the more positive side, savvy […]
by Scott Macaulay on May 28, 2012 -
DO ANCIENT ROMAN ARTIFACTS REVEAL THE WORLD’S FIRST MOTION PICTURE PROJECTOR?
Presenting evidence from a “speculative archaeological find” in Zadar, Croatia, “Ancient Cinema” is a multimedia installation and transmedia project by Canadian artist Henry Jesionka scheduled to debut in Zadar in June. The piece’s premise — that ancient artifacts recently retrieved from Zadar point to the existence of the world’s first motion picture project. Jesionka explains his Indiegogo project: Based on this speculative evidence, “Ancient Cinema” will present a working recreation of an ancient Roman movie projector, projecting the world’s first animated “films.” Along with this groundbreaking discovery, the installation will feature a short documentary about the sourcing and analysis of […]
by Scott Macaulay on May 27, 2012 -
CANNES PRESIDENT ADDRESSES ABSENCE OF FEMALE DIRECTORS
In an interview published yesterday in The Guardian, Cannes Festival President Gilles Jacob addressed the issue of the 2012 edition’s lack of female directors in Competition, saying, “I am sure that next year the chief selector, Thierry Frémaux, will look more carefully to find films by women.” Countering critics, he said that the festival does aim for some sort of gender balance in its selections. “The job of feminists and of people like me who like the work of female film-makers is to say to [Frémaux]: ‘Are you sure there isn’t somewhere a film by a woman that deserves to […]
by Scott Macaulay on May 27, 2012 -
“AMOUR,” “BEASTS OF THE SOUTHERN WILD” WIN AT THE CANNES FILM FESTIVAL
Michael Haneke picked up his second Palme d’Or in a row today when the Cannes jury awarded the Austrian director the festival’s top prize for Amour (pictured), his tale of an elderly couple dealing with the wife’s catastrophic health issues. The award was surprising only in its lack of surprise — while the preceding prizes had been unanticipated choices, Amour, to be released later this Fall by Sony Pictures Classics, was easily the consensus pick of critics and Competition viewers. In other awards, the Camera d’Or for Best First Film went to American independent Benh Zeitlin for his Beasts of […]
by Scott Macaulay on May 27, 2012 -
Joachim Trier Offers Advice from Oslo, August 31st
If you’ve come anywhere near the blog or print magazine recently, you’ll know that Filmmaker — myself, and much of our staff — are in love with Joachim Trier’s feature, Oslo, August 31st, which opened this weekend from Strand Releasing. I sat down with Trier last month for a short chat, posted below. We talk about the movie’s inspirations, the Louis Malle film based on the same book, adaptation, and then Trier gives some very solid and inspiring advice to young directors. Also, read my interview with Trier from the Winter, 2012 issue.
by Scott Macaulay on May 26, 2012 -
“BEASTS OF THE SOUTHERN WILD” WINS CANNES FIPRESCI PRIZE
Earlier today, Benh Zeitlin’s Beasts of the Southern Wild picked up the FIPRESCI prize, given by an international jury of film critics, as the best film in the Un Certain Regard section of the main selection. Sergei Loznitsa’s In the Fog picked up the FIPRESCI prize in the Competition, while the jury gave the Director’s Fortnight prize to Rachad Djaidani’s Hold Back. The Cannes Ecumenical Jury gave its prize to Thomas Vinterberg’s The Hunt, with Beasts of the Southern Wild receiving a mention.Marked by persistent rain, a Competition that hit critical mass midway with Michael Haneke’s tale of an elderly […]
by Scott Macaulay on May 26, 2012 -
Jeffrey Travis on Shopping his Economic Thriller at Cannes
L.A.-based independent filmmaker Jeffrey Travis (Flatlands) brought his latest short, Pollution, to the Short Film Corner at Cannes, and he’s using the trip to also look for a foreign sales agent for his new independent feature, Dragon Day. Below he talks about stalking the aisles of the Cannes Film Market, and why he hopes international buyers will warm to a dystopian near-future drama that imagines a U.S. destroyed by a cyber attack from China. Filmmaker: So how has the Cannes Film Market been for you? Jeff Travis: It’s been interesting. Before I knew very little about the whole world of […]
by Scott Macaulay on May 26, 2012 -
AT CANNES: THE SUN SHINES AT THE WETTEST FESTIVAL
Is there anything worse than some other guy going on about the weather? When Angelenos extoll their perpetually sunny climes, it always feels a bit like a reproach to those who live anywhere else. Pacific Northwesterners discuss their persistent rain quietly, as if wearing some old war medal. But journalists in Cannes? What do readers feel when reading reports of how cold and soggy it is in the south of France? Sympathy? Schadenfreude? Or perhaps just disinterest? Despite my suspicion that it is the latter, I still have to go there because, yes, the rain has been the most notable […]
by Scott Macaulay on May 22, 2012 -
Kickstarter CEO on Equity Crowdsourcing: “We’re Not Interested in that Model”
When the JOBS Act was passed into law last month, I immediately wondered about the effect it would have on the crowdfunding of independent feature films. Many independent films are successfully raising into the six figures by banking on the generosity of their supporters and giving them only creative, non-monetary rewards. But the JOBS Act, as detailed by Matthew Savare and Richard Jaycobs at Filmmaker, allows filmmakers to seek actual equity investors via crowdfunding platforms. These platforms, like Kickstarter, will have to register with the SEC and provide investors with various disclosures. Some filmmakers are excited by these new regulations, […]
by Scott Macaulay on May 22, 2012 -
AT CANNES: THE CRONENBERG METHOD
As Toronto Film Festival head Cameron Bailey said by way of introducing a conversation with directors David Cronenberg and Brandon Cronenberg here at the Cannes Film Festival, 2012 is the first time the event has ever featured father and son filmmakers in the official selection. Pere Cronenberg’s Cosmopolis is a hotly anticipated title in the Official Competition. (Perhaps “ruefully anticipated” is a more accurate description; the film plays Saturday; many journalists, myself included, will be back home; and there have been no advance press screenings.) Antiviral, son Cronenberg’s foray into body horror and celebrity culture, is in Un Certain Regard. […]
by Scott Macaulay on May 21, 2012
